Despite the ubiquitous nature of the attorney-client privilege, attorneys generally understand far less about the nuances of the invocation of the attorney-client privilege than they should, particularly in the context of interacting with former employees of a corporate client.
Businesses across a range of industries see the value in optimizing their processes, as doing so can have a significant impact on both their top and bottom lines. The challenge has always been how to gain insight into the areas of inefficiency and execute a plan to optimize.
Last April, the Supreme Court held that the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the EEOC may raise the agency's failure to engage in conciliation as a defense. It reversed a decision by the Seventh Circuit, which had held ' contradicting other circuits ' that the EEOC's conduct of the conciliation process is not judicially reviewable.
In an effort to "help employers to review their handbooks and other rules, and conform them if necessary, to ensure that they are lawful," the NLRB general counsel recently issued a 30-page memorandum setting forth guidance on employers' internal personnel policies to ensure compliance with the NLRA. The report is relevant to nearly all private employers, regardless of whether they have union-represented employees.
Spousal guaranties are about to receive additional scrutiny now that the United States Supreme Court has decided to grant certiorari to a decision by the Eighth Circuit regarding whether a spousal guarantor is an "applicant" entitled to bring an action under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and related implementing regulation (Regulation B).
One of the most important parts of the franchise relationship comes before a single product is sold, and even before a franchise agreement is signed. And this part concerns the procedure and content of franchisor disclosure of information to the franchisee via the franchise disclosure document (FDD). As the cases below show, the process and content surrounding the FDD can make or break potential claims between franchisors and franchisees.
In-depth discussion of several key cases.
In Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., the Supreme Court, over the objection of four dissenting justices, held that proof of discriminatory intent or treatment was not essential to a Fair Housing Act claim.
On May 5, 2015, United States District Judge Vincent L. Bricetti affirmed the confirmation order issued by United States Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain in the MPM Silicones LLC ( Momentive ) Chapter 11 cases. We discussed the facts and analyzed Judge Drain's ruling with respect to the applicable cramdown interest rate to be applied to secured claims under section 1129(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bankruptcy Code in a prior article ( see "Cramdown Interest Rates in Chapter 11," Equipment Leasing Newsletter , March 2015, http: //bit.ly/1Jr81HU). On appeal, the senior lien appellants argued that the plan of reorganization confirmed by Judge Drain violated section 1129(b) by using a "formula approach" to calculate the cramdown interest rate, and, in the alternative, by calculating the cramdown interest rate under the formula approach incorrectly.
